Friday, February 7, 2014

A Catty Rerun

Thought for the day:  You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake. 


Those of you who live in the southeastern United States may have noticed a bright glow in the sky on Wednesday. Sorry about that. It was my husband's birthday. Even though we had the fire department waiting on stand-by, the candles still got a little out of control again this year. My bad. I really shouldn't have tried to save time by lighting all those darned things with a blow torch.

Oh well. I'll try to do better next year.

Yeah, so we're both getting older. Big deal. Age is just a number, right? (Especially when it's his number going up, and not mine.) To tell the truth, we don't make a big deal out of birthdays anymore. No candles at all. (Too dangerous!) And no big parties, for sure. 


We prefer smaller gatherings these days. Like maybe just Smarticus, me and a few dozen of our favorite juicy friends. (That's plenty spicy enough for us, even if our pals do end up getting steamed.)

Our cat Dash got stranded atop the fridge when our friends were splashing around in the sink, which reminded me of a post I did back in June of 2011:  Tale of an Ungrateful Kitty. So I'm gonna run it again, as soon as I share a short Tom Rush video about the joys of getting older:



Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.  [Stanislaw Jerry Lec]
                       {Too bad my work of art is being painted by Picasso...}

You don't stop laughing because you grow older. You grow older because you stop laughing.  [Maurice Chevalier]        

I'm happy to report that my inner child is still ageless.  [Jane Broughton]
                                       
You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old.  [George Burns]
                       
***********************

                                                        And now... for that rerun...

Thought for the day:  An invisible man married an invisible woman. Their kids were nothing to look at, either.


I've been poking fun at the English language lately, so I thought about writing a short Ogden Nash-type poem using words ending in ough to make fun of the fact that those words have so many different pronunciations.

Well, as they say, the best-laid plans of mice and men ...

I did write a poem, but it isn't Ogden Nash short. (or Ogden Nash clever) Has some ough words in it, but I ended up having more fun telling the tale than fulfilling the original premise. So, here it is, a silly little poem. It's based on a true story, and although I got away with batting my eyelashes back then, I was young, lithe, and lovely at the time. I'm afraid if I tried to pull that stunt now, Smarticus would haul me off to the eye doctor.


                                                               A Silly Little Poem

                                                   'Twas one in the morning, I vow,
                                                   When I heard a cat meow from a bough.
                                                   High up in a tree,
                                                   He seemed helpless to me.
                                                   Begged I, "Please get him down now."

                                                  With a frown, my man gave a cough,
                                                  Said, "No need to get the cat off.
                                                  He made his way up;
                                                  He can make his way down."
                                                  And I batted my eyes, sure enough.

                                                  'Twas sleeting and icy, so rough,
                                                  But my sweetie, so tender, so tough,
                                                  Climbed up on our ladder,
                                                  But that didn't matter;
                                                  To the cat, it wasn't enough.


The cat pulled back out of reach;
My man yelled, "Son of a beech!"
He stretched a bit more
To the kitty so poor,
And the cat gave a God-awful screech.

'Twas dark, so I couldn't quite see,
But the cat came tearing past me.
He'd run down my sweetie
And clawed off some meatie,
So I figured in trouble I'd be.

                                           "No more!" my man roared to me.
                                           "Next time, we leave the cats be.
                                           We don't need no damned ladder;
                                            It just doesn't matter.
                                            Have you ever
                                            Seen bones
                                            In a tree?"


                                   Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

                                                                   Me? I think I'll just ...

hang around

[The crab photo was taken by yours truly. Wikipedia provided the flames, and the catty pics come to us courtesy of Morguefile.]

81 comments:

  1. Love that Tom Rush video, although I hope I never get that forgetful.
    As for the cat, it's true, one way or another they get themselves down.
    The bird in your new header is the reddest I've ever seen!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope I never get that forgetful, either. So far, between Smarticus and me, we can scrape together one pretty doggone good memory.

      Yeah, I know that "theoretically", cats can get back down again, but that doesn't stop me from "rescuing" them whenever one of our girls manages to get atop some ridiculously high and perilous spot. (Like on the valances above out bedroom windows.)

      Isn't he a beauty? It's a cardinal.

      Delete
  2. Nothing wrong with being old and actually there is a lot good about it when we accept who we are as elders. However, I think you all have a ways to go yet judging from your picture here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right; there is a lot good about being older. We haven't hit seventy yet, but we're creeping ever closer.

      Delete
  3. Oh my gosh. It's 11p.m. and I just finished a foggy flu-infested entry on my blog because I can't lay down without coughing and you made me LAUGH!! No use trying to tell how hard that is, but I actually clapped after Tom Rush's wonderful song and thoroughly enjoyed your poem. My compliments and appreciation!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You poor thing. That flu's been really bad this year. We both got a shot, and so far, knock on wood, we're okay, but a lot of people here have been hospitalized with it. You'd better take care of yourself, dude.

      I'm glad you enjoyed this post. Now, get well soon!

      Delete
  4. Hope your hubby had a great birthday! I loved your poem, and it was way too clever to be silly! You just gave me a great idea that I'll have to run by you! Thanks Susan!

    Julie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He had a terrific birthday. (Any day that involves steamed crabs is a terrific one...)

      Thanks. I'm glad you liked it. Can hardly see what kinda idea it sparked in you...

      Delete
  5. Oh Susan, the poem was so cute.. I could almost see the cat using your husbands body to climb down using his nails... they are resourceful :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. I'm glad you l liked it. My hubby laughed at the poem, but he sure wasn't a fan of that "resourceful" stray cat.

      Delete
  6. I love Buffett's slant on it... "I'm growing older but not up. My metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck. Let the winds of time blow over my head. I'd rather die while I'm living than live when I'm dead."

    Tell Smarticus happy birthday from me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Buffett's slant is perfect! Especially that last line.

      Thanks. Will do.

      Delete
  7. Funny! Tell him not to worry - those cat scars will heal.
    I'd prefer not to count birthdays anymore either.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, those scars healed a long time ago. (And he'd STILL rescue a cat if I asked him to do it... maybe even without me asking.)

      Oh, we don't mind counting the birthdays. Considering our family histories, we're both proud to still be here.

      Delete
  8. Happy Birthday to Smarticus! I think one of the best ways to balance a household budget is to forget about birthdays!

    And your poem is both funny and cleaver. "More," the cat cried.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wouldn't have a problem skipping celebrations for any holiday, because I'm more in the camp of celebrating "just because" as opposed to following the calendar's dictates. But my hubby enjoys holidays, so it's okay by me.

      Thanks! Glad ya liked it.

      Delete
  9. What a great poem. Happy Birthday to your sweetie and thanks for the video. A wonderful start to my day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I'm glad your day is off to a good start. Here's to a great weekend!

      Delete
  10. The cat likes that
    Winning and then away it did scat
    Making humans do silly things
    Some fun that brings

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We don't mind feeding and cuddling stray cats,
      Or trying to "rescue" them, and things like that.
      The one thing that gives us reason to pause
      Are those long, and oft dirty, and sharp feline claws.

      Delete
  11. Ha! I had to rescue one of my cats from a tree once...really!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're all suckers for a furry face and a plaintive cry.

      Delete
  12. I LOVE your header!! It is just beautiful. I have lots of cardinals in my yard, but it is too cold and too white with snow to go outside to take some pictures. I see you got some of that ice also. It has been one crazy winter and we could all use the heat of a bonfire.

    All of our outside cats love to climb trees. It makes me nervous when I see them, but like your husband said, they got up there, they can get down. They do climb up very fast and with no fear. However, coming down they are much slower and thoughtful of each step. Aren't we all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I love the striking contrast of cardinals against a stark and/or snowy background. (But I'm looking forward to seeing them against a lot of GREEN, too!)

      Yeah, I know. The head knows cats can get back down on their own, but the heart can't stand seeing them up there, especially if they're meowing pitifully. (And it was COLD... and ICY!)

      I really "should" be slower and more thoughtful of each step, but sometimes I "forget" I'm not a kid anymore.

      Delete
  13. Very fun poem! Happy Birthday to your husband. I had one myself this week, although I don't like to talk about birthdays much any more ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! And a very happy (belated) birthday to you, too. I hope your family treated you like a queen.

      Delete
  14. I often see a neighbor's cat in the tree right outside my window....I see him in the tree but I never see him go up or down.
    I love your humor about aging and fully believe that humor is the best route to positive aging....but then I may be to old to really know what I am talking about.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's been a while since I've seen any cats in our trees, but a couple cats have shown up on the ledges outside our bedroom windows. (Which are pretty doggone high off the ground.) Nothing like looking out the window and seeing those eyes peering back in at you. It drives out cats absolutely nuts, too.

      I agree. Not about you being too old to know what you're talking about... with the part about humor. We can't do anything about getting older, so we might as well enjoy it. ["We're only young once, but with humor, we can be immature forever."- Art Gliner]

      Delete
  15. I think some of those spicy visitors needed to be returned to the sea to grow a bit.

    As an x-crabber I know a keeper when I see one.

    Good stuff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some of those crabs were a bit on the small side, but you should have seen the ones we DIDN'T pick. In Baltimore, you'd get locked up for keeping crabs that teeny. We've also seen sponge crabs for sale here before, which we would never buy. Makes me sick to see 'em. All those little crabs that never get born...

      Delete
  16. Happy belated birthday to Smarticus!

    I think you are right about Smarticus not going up the tree for any more cats. However, I don't think it is because you older or less lithe than you were. I think he still remembers his hide being torn off from the last experience. It's amazing the things we remember and the things we forget!

    Also..
    I dedicated something to you on the HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY post. I hope you like it:

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks!

      I dunno. Smarticus is much more of a cat lover than he used to be. We never used to, but nowadays, we put out food and water for the neighborhood critters, and he even set up a box with a light in it for warmth when he saw a stray outside one cold night. So he just might try to rescue another cat if it were trapped in a tree. Maybe.

      Okay, thanks! I'll go check it out right now.

      Delete
  17. Dear Susan,
    I just read a book about getting older - "The Next Fifty Years" by Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D. Well - she writes 'Despite my usual optimistic outlook (...)" - hahaha, I don't want to meet her when she is not optimistic :-) I find the book a bit depressing - but I'm only on page 39 - my usual optimistic outlook hopes it will get more...optimistic.
    This being said: Age is only a number (I agree with you: especially when it belongs to other people). Have a nice weekend! Britta

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Britta,

      HA! I hope your optimism for that book pans out, and it gets a bit more uplifting. There's no way I have another fifty years left in me, but I'm optimistic about making the best out of whatever time we do have.

      You have a super weekend, too!

      Delete
  18. Happy birthday to your husband!! Hope there was lots of cake :)

    Cats have the unique ability to get themselves caught in the oddest possible ways and places.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Better yet... homemade cheesecake! With fresh blueberry topping.

      Cats are unique in every way. They sure know how to worm their way into our hearts, too.

      Delete
  19. An interesting post that I enjoyed reading. I feel like I've aged, as I'm slightly weak on my legs - twenty years of running hasn't helped! Ah, well!

    Thank you. Love love, Andrew. Bye.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We can't help but age, but hey! If we can't run as far or fast as we used to, why not walk slowly, and enjoy the scenery? And take rest breaks every now and then.

      Delete
  20. Happy birthday to Smarticus! At least you remembered. My husband played down my birthday this year, by which I mean: he plumb forgot.

    Love the cardinal in the ice-bedecked tree, too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I read somewhere that the best way to make a man remember his anniversary (or in this case, your birthday) is for him to forget it once. (Did you get out of bed singing, ♪♫"Happy birthday to me..."? ♪♫) Maybe that's what you need to do next year, just in case. Or maybe you should be "friends" on Facebook: it sends out birthday reminders.

      Happy weekend!

      Delete
  21. That's a really fun poem! Hope your husband had a nice birthday.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Gina. I'm glad you liked it. Let's see... you're young and on the serious side, and I'm old and on the not-so-serious side. Sounds like we kinda balance each other out in the world.

      Delete
  22. Love that poem and I know those things do happen when kitties in trees decide it's time to come down and you have just provided them with the means to do so.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I'm glad you liked the poem. And for sure, those things definitely happen. My hubby has the scars to prove it.

      Delete
  23. I snorted out loud at "son of a beech" in your poem. Total greatness. Happy Birthday to your hubby. Enjoy the weekend and I love the cardinal pic

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cool! I'm glad you found the poem to be snort-worthy.

      Happy weekend to you, too!

      Delete
  24. Great cat poem, and I especially love the last sentiment: "Have you ever seen bones in a tree?".

    I can never forget the day of my birthday - because we both share it - - but I have a persistent habit of forgetting the year....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. That's my favorite line, too, because that's exactly what Smarticus said.

      I never forget the year, but I sometimes forget how old I am.

      Delete
  25. The poem is hilarious. You made me laugh.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
  26. Birthdays, birthdays, birthdays! No more, not again, won't go there! LOL

    Loved the poem!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Birthdays seem to come closer and closer together, but it beats the alternative...

      Thanks!

      Delete
  27. Happy birthday to hubs. Lovely celebration. Love the poem and the pics.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I feel young at heart. I prefer just one birthday candle.

    Yup, never seen bones in a tree.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, I feel young at heart too, and maybe that's all that matters.

      Me neither!

      Delete
  29. Loved the poem, especially the line Have you ever seen bones in a tree? Too funny!

    Happy belated birthday to Smarticus! I don't mind getting older - it goes along with more self-confidence and increasingly less worry about what other people might think... :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. Smarticus really said that...

      Yeah, you're right about getting older. It's nice not to worry about what other people think. (Right? Did I say that right...? )

      Happy weekend, you wild and crazy runner, you. (Again, congratulations!)

      Delete
  30. I used to worry about my cat getting stuck in a tree. But he always manages to figure out how to come down.

    Keep staying young at heart! That's the key to life!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My head knows our cats could probably get back down from wherever they may climb, but my heart can't handle them being up there.

      We're trying! So, far, so good...

      Delete
  31. Too funny. The English language can be a mystery. I have taught ESL and it used to frustrate the students when they'd come up against an incomprehensible rule.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, English isn't nearly as structured and sensible as other languages. I'm glad I didn't have to learn it as an adult.

      Delete
  32. Loved all of it. I am enchanted by our language and enjoy finding the different uses of it in different English speaking countries.
    Cats will do what cats will do and trying to help them out can lead to serious trouble and not for the cat as a rule. Loved that poem. So clever.
    I am now 82 but (except when standing up which I have problems with because of my arthritis) I don't feel much older than I did at 35 or 45 or 55. "It's all in the mind you know!!" as the Goons were always saying. I think it was Spike Milligan's line.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

      Being young at heart and mind beats having a nubile body. (Although, it would be nice to be a LITTLE more nubile...)

      Delete
  33. Hope husband's birthday was awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hey Susan,

    A birthday for your husband. Fire alarms give out warnings. Of course, speaking of our language, I love the lost in translation stuff. Heck, I can almost forgive you guys for spelling English incorrectly.

    Very neat poem. I assume the cat was up a Beech tree.

    Ah yes, age be a number, I'm looking forward to 69......

    Gary :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Gary.

      Thank you so much for forgiving us fo(u)r mangling yo(u)r queen's English, old(e) bean.

      Yep, age be a number, but I'm trying to ignore mine.

      Cheerio!

      Delete
  35. I think it'd be interesting to hear the reasons behind those 'ough' words not being the same sound. Silly language creators. ;)

    The video is funny. Happy Birthday to your husband.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The reasons? I think a copious amount of adult beverages may have been involved.

      Glad ya liked it. Thanks.

      Delete
  36. I was wondering what that distant glow in the sky was...thanks for clearing up the mystery!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm happy to clear up the mystery for ya. (Consider it a public service announcement.)

      Welcome aboard! Nice to meetcha.

      Delete
  37. 'And I batted my eyes, sure enough.'

    Some things never stop working, eh? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some things might still work, but not nearly as well as they used to!

      Delete
  38. LOL I love this poem. I think it's very clever! I cracked up about the cat tearing some meatie off your sweetie LOL.
    You're so mean about your husband's birthday cake, but that cracked me up too. :D

    ReplyDelete
  39. Birthday are an excuse to party. I no longer attach any numerical significance.

    LOVED the poem.

    ReplyDelete
  40. gotta love Ogden Nash! Birthday parties these days are very very quiet. Maybe we'll use some candles next year--I think there is an open box in the junk drawer?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yeah, I do love Ogden Nash. Maybe if I work real hard, I'll be able to write a poem as clever as his when I "grow up." (Or grow out... a better chance of that happening.)

      I probably still have some of those digit candles from when our kids were young. Along with some of those candles that reignite when you try to blow them out. Not in a junk drawer, though. More of a junk cabinet.

      Delete
  41. Happy Birthday belatedly Mr I Think... et al!! If you had crabs - how delicious ...

    Wonderful cat Ogden Nash poem .. fun to read .. cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. He had a fun birthday, and we definitely had crabs. Deeee-licious!

      Thanks! I'm glad you liked my silly little poem.

      Delete